by Paul Myerberg, USA TODAY Sports

by Paul Myerberg, USA TODAY Sports

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. - Until the ball is snapped â?? and often for a second or two afterward â?? the foundational play within Auburn's prolific offense presents as many as four options for the opposition for defend.

The blueprint, in essence, is the zone-read call: The quarterback, in shotgun, takes the snap and hands the ball to the running back, keeps the ball himself or fakes the handoff, steps back in the pocket and delivers a pass to an open receiver.

When using this one play, as it does more often than not, Auburn's offense has four options at its disposal. When it comes to the running game, quarterback Nick Marshall will read the back-side defensive end, who is unblocked by the Tigers offensive line.

If the end remains in position in an effort to keep the play from breaking to the outside, Marshall will hand the ball to running back Tre Mason. If the end breaks inside toward the middle of the line of scrimmage, Marshall will keep the ball and run to the outside.

Marshall has another two options, both in the passing game. One, he can take the snap and throw a screen pass to a receiver. Two, he can run the zone-read play through both running options â?? give to Mason, keep himself â?? and then, rather than taking off and running, step back and deliver a pass to a wide receiver downfield.

What makes Auburn's bread-and-butter zone-read play so dangerous isn't merely the schematic advantage it gives the Tigers offense â?? the idea that the group can rapidly identify a weak point and exploit it â?? but also the ease and fluidity with which its skill players run it to perfection.

For Auburn, a victory in the Bowl Championship Series national title game demands a successful evening running this play against Florida State's elite defense. Conversely, any chance FSU has at slowing the nation's top ground game demands a consistent, steady and disciplined game plan for slowing it down.

USA TODAY Sports spoke with the key members of Auburn's offense and Florida State's defense to gain insight into perhaps the game's defining factor: How do the Tigers position themselves to run this play, and how do the Seminoles position themselves to stop it?

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Auburn fullback Jay Prosch:

"I like to try and get a pre-snap evaluation before I get lined up. Because whenever I'm in my stance before the play I don't want to be looking at things like that to give away a possible idea of where the play could be going. So I just look straight ahead. But, yeah, I do try to get a pre-snap (look), try to see how deep the safeties are getting or where the linebackers are, if they're playing outside the box a little, inside the box. Things like that, pre-snap. But I do a lot of stuff on the go. Even if I don't get a good read when the play is snapped, I can still be able to get my block and things like that."

Auburn center Reese Dismukes:

"All I look at is what front they're in. It's pretty much the same, inside zone, for me. They're a multiple front. They'll run odd, they'll run a 3-4, a 4-3, you know, an even front. They're a lot like Alabama and Georgia. All those defensive guys kind of come from the same general background. All kind of from (Nick) Saban."

Auburn running back Tre Mason:

"Well, you know, just watching other pros and taking tips from guys like Bo Jackson and Cam Newton, those guys always told me keep your eyes directed down the middle of the field. Most backs will look where they're going to go, and I refrain from doing that. That is one of the main tips that I took from those guys because there is a tendency for a back to look where he's going to go, and that makes it easier for a defense to be there before you're there."

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Florida State strong-side linebacker Christian Jones:

"You don't really know where they're going to end up with the ball. We've seen plays where they're supposed to run up the middle and they bounce it all the way out to the outside because a guy lost contain. It's real important, because whatever opening they see they're going to take it. Their ball-carriers, they know where to go when they get the ball. So it's real important that we stay disciplined, especially the interior guys, that they stay inside, and the outside guys stay outside.

"I'm on the edge, so most of the time I'm going to be reading the quarterback. I've got to read him in case he pulls it or he keeps it. Then I've just got to keep the edge. I think if we do that we have a real good shot at competing in the game."

Florida State middle linebacker Terrance Smith:

"Pretty much what we're going to have to do is be very gap-sound. Everyone's going to have to do their responsibility and take responsibility for their gap because they have a pretty good running back in Tre Mason. He has a good ability to find any little creases you give him. So we're just going to try to build a wall and make sure that nothing gets out.

"To stop them you're going to need really good eye discipline. They try to mess you up with a lot of their different motions and a lot of their window dressing, to get you out of position and to hit the big plays. If we can stay sound and everybody does their responsibility I believe we'll be able to handle them."

Florida State defensive end Eddie Goldman:

"We just want to play the blocks real well. And then once the ball crosses the line of scrimmage, once the ball declares, you want to run to the ball. We're just trying to run to the ball, get as many people to the ball that we can. We've just got to communicate real well.

"I feel like every job is important. No job is more important than the other because it's like a domino effect. If one doesn't do his job, then it's not going to work. So it's like, everybody's job is important."

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Auburn tight end C.J. Uzomah:

"Obviously, we're going to look at the defense and see if we can key something. We know that Florida State does a great job disguising their defenses. It's going to be a challenge. But once the play develops, once the play starts, I think that's when the reads actually start happening. Nick (Marshall) makes great reads almost 100% of the time. We put that trust in him on whether or not to give it, pull it, throw it to Sammie (Coates), whoever it is. We know that it's a majority of the time it happens during the play as opposed to before the snap."

Auburn left tackle Greg Robinson:

"We have pre-snap reads, so it's really just focusing on your man, which linebacker you're going to do. Our first job is to move the down guy and then you go worry about the linebacker. The down guy is the most important because he's the first one that can get to the runner.

"But really, the whole thing is pre-snap. You've got to know what you're doing pre-snap, but you also have to adjust as the play goes on because there's a lot of movement and blitzing. Really, it's just all reaction. If we stay on track on counters and stuff, it's just simple football, one-on-one."

Auburn offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee:

"The way football works, the defense has to react to the offense. Offensively, whatever play you call or whatever you do dictates the tempo. So that's kind of natural. We've got to make sure that we're more aggressive. We've got to be the aggressor as opposed to someone reacting to getting hit in the mouth.

"You've got plenty of plays you call and just snap. As a coach, you try to do some things to plan schematically and break tendencies, to put yourself in position to give your guys a chance to succeed. Sometimes you try to make sure you get them in the right thing. It doesn't matter if it's the zone-read or anything else, the bottom line comes down to execution. Who's going to out-execute who?

"It often comes down to a lot of one-on-one battles. They may know what you're about to do, you may know what they're about to do. Are you going to be able to get off the blocks or are they going to get off the blocks? Are you going to make the right reads or not? So when it comes down to it, when the game starts, you've had all this time leading up to it, it's going to come down to who executes the best."

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Florida State defensive tackle Timmy Jernigan:

"The biggest thing is going to be just playing disciplined. Because they've got so many things they can do from within the scheme, you know. Our guys have definitely got to run to the ball and get back to the ball and lined up. That's going to be the big thing, getting lined up. The most impressive thing about them is they've got the ability to definitely take advantage of your missed opportunities. They can take those into touchdowns. They also can impose their will on you and take what they want."

Florida State weak-side linebacker Telvin Smith:

"With a normal team, let's say, you would say, 'OK, bet. Let's get in there and let's stop the run on first down.' But with this team, the coach, Coach Malzahn, he doesn't have a script. He goes out there and he calls the play and they go out and run it. It's going to be a little tricky. But we're going to leave it the hands of our coaches and go out there and play hard."

Florida State defensive line coach Odell Haggins:

"The thing you'd better do, you'd better play disciplined. All other stuff is irrelevant if you don't play disciplined. Go out and play fundamental football, that's the key. Our whole thing is talking about fundamentals. You can't go out and play in the game saying, 'We've got to do this.' You'd better be fundamentally sound. That's the main thing. You start with the fundamentals and you build from there. The defensive line, they're the foundation of your defense, right up front. If a team can run the ball four or five yards a snap they'll never throw the ball, They've got to play what they see. If you see a little, you see a lot. If you see a lot, you see nothing."